Lose Yourself

It’s hard to look in the mirror and think, “Am I really good enough?”

But what exactly is “good enough?” Is it something society has deemed fit? Or is it some crazy idea that we’ve gotten into our own head over the years. I was always told, “You can be anything you want to be.” But I don’t think that’s necessarily true. What if I aspired to be a stripper? Is there a school somewhere that I can further my education in the art of twirling around a pole? Can they teach me how to be sexy and seductive so I earn enough singles in my thong to pay the rent this month? I really don’t think so. Besides, if I went to my family and told them I was even considering that career choice, they would slap the hell out of me, lock me up, and forget I exist. Somehow that just doesn’t sound like a walk in the park. And I know my family would do just that because of a story my grandmother used to tell me all the time.

When I was about 7 or 8, I wanted to be a lawyer, but not just any kind of lawyer- a Prosecutor. I wanted to “send the bad guys to jail.” But whenever one of my aunts or uncles would ask what I wanted to be, due to a speech problem, it would always come out as “I want to be a Prostituter.” My dear sweet grandma almost had a hard attack. She set me in front of her and I remember that was the first time my grandma had one of her many long talks to me about life. But it brings me back to this….

There are so many standards out there…

Personally, I like to set my own guidelines of what I think “good enough” really is. To me, it’s the ability to wake up every single morning and show myself that I have what it takes to do what I set out to do. Eminem said it best in his song “Lose Yourself.”

“If you had one shot, one opportunity, to seize everything you’ve ever wanted. Would you capture it, or just let it slip?”

Pretty deep words for a bleach blonde, white rapper from Detroit. But take a moment to look at him and what he has achieved. He entered a world dominated by African American rappers, who said he didn’t have what it took to reach the top. In fact, they laughed and ridiculed his ambitions dreams. He sure showed them, didn’t he? He didn’t let the words of others slow him down. But how’d he do it?

This is how…the man set a goal that no matter what everyone thought, he was going to be a rapper. Sure, he didn’t look like the normal guys who graced album covers, but isn’t that what makes him great? He’s different. He wanted something so bad that he endured the ridicule and the teasing until he reached the top. No matter how hard it was, no matter what people said or thought, despite all the laughing and put downs- he didn’t quit. In the end, look who is laughing now? I’m not. He’s a prime example of how a dream can turn into a reality if we just keep pushing forward.

So every time you question yourself, “Am I good enough?” Walk into a room with a mirror, look yourself in the eye and say. “Damn it, I AM good enough.”

There will come a day when you will look back at that moment and say “I did it.” And that ill be the defining moment in all of this. It will be extremely gratifying to know that even though you wanted to throw in the towel, bury your head in the sand, and hit delete on everything, you didn’t. You stuck it out. You MADE things happen. So yes, you are good enough. Don’t believe me? Well then, maybe you need to open your eyes and see the world from a different angle.

“Why fit in, when you were born to stand out.”

-Dr. Seuss

 

If I Say Yes by Brandy Jellum

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